Walked over the Hudson

We will leave the boat on the mooring and drive back to Tennessee starting tomorrow.  We rented the car today and decided to be tourist for a while.  An old RR bridge in Poughkeepsie has been turned into a walking bridge.  It is the longest walking bridge in the world.  It is 1.2 miles long and over 200 feet above the Hudson.  It was a spectacluar view.  We would send a picture except we forgot to take the camera.  After the walk we were hungry and we drove to the CIA headquarters and had lunch.  What a place!  The buildings are done with such good design everwhere.  The have many alcoves and sitting areas overlooking the Hudson River.  The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is world renown for the chefs they produce.  After the big lunch, we drove to the Vanderbilt mansion on our way back to the yacht club.  This mansion belonged to the Commodore's grandson, Fredrick Vanderbilt and it not as elaborate as the Biltmore, but elegant just the same. We also drove through the grounds of the Roosevelt mansion.  F D's, but not Eleanor's.  Seems they had separate mansions!

66 miles

That's how far it is to Manhattan from the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club.  We are on a mooring ball here just away from the docks.  We dingy over to the dock to walk Maggie and visit with the members.  This is a world apart from the busy river traffic of NY harbor.  It is also worlds apart from the busy scene  in the city.  The members of PYC have been wonderful and have adopted us as guest members although they say we talk funny.  Pete and Cheryl  loaned us their car to go to church today.  It was a small Baptist church with a wholesome atmosphere and an obvious true love for God and one another. Pete and Cheryl also told us how to get the brown stain off the bow of Lifestyle II. It is tannin from the waters down south.  He said since we are away from the cypress trees, we will not have that problem again. Washing the bow of the boat with toliet bowl cleaner is harder than it sounds.  First you have to climb into the dingy and tie a line off the boat to keep you from floating away.  Two hours of hard scrubbing and we once again have a white boat. We are still sleeping under a blanket because the nights are still cool.  I know it is summertime somewhere but here, it is still a beautiful Spring.    

Mike on the Hudson

As were began another leg of this journey, we were overwhelmed at the beauty and rich history of this area of New York.  At every bend in the river there seemed to be another bit of American history brought back to our minds.  The picture is of Mike on the bow of the boat with the Bear Mountain suspension bridge in the background.  The Bear Mountain Bridge was constructed in 1924 and at that time was the longest suspension bridge in the world.  It is also the first vehicluar bridge to cross the Hudson and the Georgia to Maine Appalachian Mountain Trail crosses the Hudson on this bridge.
Less than 5 miles north, we saw the U.S. Military Academy at Westpoint.  The castle like buildings of the academy command the west bank for nearly 2 miles.  West Point, first fortified in 1779, is the oldest continously occupied military post in the United States and is the home of the nation's oldest service academy.The Hudson's greatest depth is 216 feet and is measured here at a section named "World's End".  In the spring of 1778, the Continental Army strung a chain across the Hudson at West Point to keep the British from using the river.  Must have been a mighty big chain!

We came into the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club at around 4:30 and picked up a mooring ball just in time for pulled pork and potato salad (Yankee style).  The club was having a get together and graciously invited us.  We met so many nice folks and they treated us like one of the club.  We slept well considering a big rainstorm in the night and trains coming and going on both sides of the river all night long.

Yesterday's washout

Thursday, we had every intention of departing Haverstraw Marina but God sent us a message.  It came in two forms.  A NOAA flashflood warning and a close strike of lightining.  So we stayed put and did other stuff.  I changed the oil in the generator and Denniese fixed meals, cleaned and handed me tools.  After noon we read novels and talked.  We still haven't hooked up the TV and decided not too do so now.  We visited our friends Jerry and Joan and got advice from them on the upcomming parts of the trip.  They have completed the loop and are now headed back home to Michigan.  It rained again during the night but we feel like the most of it has passed and we can depart to Poughkeepsie.  We have been so blessed with good weather, moderate temperatures and a minimum of insects, so to wait an extra day here, in Haverstraw has been okay, but we're ready to experience another adventure on our journey.

New York City and Beyond

When people would ask us where we were going on our LOOP adventure, we would always say we are going up the East coast and turning left at the Statue of Liberty.  Now that we are past the statue, I can say we were wrong.  Actually, coming up the East coast or from the Atlantic you need to turn left at Staten Island.  Anyway , we made the turn and passed the Statue of Liberty at 9:45 this morning.  Lots of ferry traffic, barges and container ships and right in the middle of possibly the busiest river in the world were two 16" fishing boats.  We reminisced about the last time we were in New York City.  Just a couple of lovebirds on a whirlwind tour of the city.  We're still a couple of lovebirds and still made a whirlwind trip through the city, only this time it was on the water. We continued at our usual 6mph and passed Manhattan, The Bronx and soon past the island itself.  Soon the landscape started changing and it looked more like Tennessee.Hills on the Jersey side and trees on the New York side.  Thirty miles up the river and you would think you were back home.  We passed Sing-Sing prison at 2:30pm and found our marina for the evening just a few miles away.  Not long after we got the boat in its slip it started raining and has been pretty steady since.  Weather permitting we will travel to Poughkeepsie tomorrow and prepare Lifestyle to be left alone for a while so we can drive back to M'boro and be home for the fourth.  We'll keep you posted. 

Start spreadin' the news. . . . . .I'm leaving today. . . . .

New York, New York!!!!  We finally made it out of New Jersey but not soon enough for me!  We found a protected harbor in Great Kills, NY and there are hundreds of mooring balls with boats attached to them.
Thanks to all who prayed for smooth sailing for us on the Atlantic Ocean.  We had no problems at all.  We made the trip up to New York in about 4 hours, behind some new friends, Jerry and Joan.  They are moored here in the harbor tonight very close to us.  Mike & I both agreed that if we had to end our trip today (but we're not planning on that) it was worth all the work getting here.  The things we have seen and the people we have already met will last a long, long time.Tomorrow, (weather permitting, our new phrase)

we will motor through New York Harbor and see Lady Liberty from our boat.  We are excited about it.  The weather has been super. The high temp today was about 80 and last night we had the windows open and slept under a blanket because it was so cool.  We will continue pressing on up the Hudson River and try to get as far as Poughkeepsie before leaving the boat to come home for the Jerry Burns Annual International Golf Tourney and the 4th of July.  The picture is of Jerry and Joan's boat named "N II Wishin".

Thrasher Shark

No, not the people that run the marinas in New Jersey but the fish the boaters catch.  We made the 20 mile run to Brielle, New Jersey this morning anbd had the boat in a slip by 1:00.  The owner of the marina took us to the grocery store and Denniese paid $13.99 for a 2 pound container of Maxwell House coffee.  Have we been gone so long that coffee has gone up that much?  Anyway the people here at Hoffmans Marina are real nice.  I changed the oil in the engine and Denniese cleaned the boat.  We leave tomorrow to go into the Atlantic Ocean on our way to Sandy Hook. It will be our first time in the ocean since Key Largo back in March.  I doubt we will have wireless service there but if we do, we will send you a note. After Sandy Hook is the jump to the Hudson River and we get to wave at the Statue Of Liberty as we motor past.  The shark in the picture weighed in at 272 lbs.  The man that caught it said he plans to eat it and it is one of the finest fish around to eat. 

No Dogs allowed

Annapolis loves dogs.  The comunity there had many small parks all with plastic waste bags and trash containers.  Occasionally you would see a sign that reminded pet owners to pick up after their pet.  It seemed like most of the happy people in Annapolis owned pets.  Not so in New Jersey.  The boating community seems unhappy, in a hurry and very unfriendly.  I think its because they don't like dogs. We found a great little anchor spot just off the Toms River.  The city of Toms River is a historic port dating back to 1624.  The area we anchored in is just before that and is called Island Heights.  We dingyed to their city dingy dock and first thing we saw was a  sign that said, "  NO Dogs Allowed '.  Something is wrong with people that don't like dogs.  As we sit rocking on our boat and the sun is setting on this beautiful little harbor, I can't help but think the attitude must be related to the short summers. Well, global warming will fix them. Here's is the sunset at our anchorage, tonight.

Charts and Maps

Cape May was a tough anchorage.  The Coast Guard station kept making announcements, sounding horns and playing marching music over the PA.  The fishing boats started before sunrise and we were anchored next to the channel.  But we were so tired we slept  through most of it.  The Southern part of New Jersey is maybe the least attractive place we have been in to date.  Most trawlers travel this section on the outside, thats in the Atlantic.  We stayed in the  ICW and it was wild.  The landscape looks like South Georga but has less waterway for boats.  On top of that,  the accepted practice here is to fish in the channel.  I ask one boater if he knew he was in the channel and he said "yea!!, that's where the fish are!!"  We navigated all that without a navagation chart.   I failed to buy one and so we used a road map.  We are doing just fine, thank you.  We have two more days of this and we will be in New York.  It's got to be better.  Lots of love to you all and Happy Fathers day.

Cape May, NJ

We departed Delaware City this morning about 8 am.  I had real reservations about leaving.  The weather front had stalled over Delaware Bay and I was not sure about the weather.  As it turned out, it was a very pleasant crossing.  More answered prayers!!  The Delaware Bay is large and relatively shallow.  In addition it has a north-south orientation and has a very strong current.  The tide here is 4-5 feet.  If a strong South wind kicks up, it can be real nasty.  None of that happened.  It was a great day.  We are now at anchor in Cape May, which is a fishing community at the tip of New Jersey.  We will head up the intracoastal tomorrow.  All is well except we are very tired after a full day of traveling.  We still must eat, walk the dog, (which is an adventure itself) and prepare for tomorrow. 

C&D Canal

We are in a marina which just has one lone row of boats. It is the original canal for the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.  The C&D canal was completed in 1829 and the boom town that developed at the end of WW1 and WW2 is called Delaware City.  The town is very attractive, has a nice park and a walking trail down to the old canal where Lifestyle II is docked.   The forcast for the southern portion of the Delaware Bay for this afternoon was not good so we decided to stay put and wait another day.  The bay is wide, shallow, opens to the South and has lots and lots of big commercial boats. This is a bay a small boat takes only on a good day.  The winds were predicted to clock around to the South this a/n and so we will pick another day.  Besides, the marina manager gave us a discount for the second day.  We took the opportunity to do boat projects. I worked most of the morning getting black marks off the side of the boat that have been accumulating since Key Largo.  We also put the netting up on the starboard side of the boat to keep Maggie safely onboard.  Denniese unpacked the sewing machine and made us a new shower curtain and curtain for the port in that head. (window curtain for the bathroom).  We did a few other projects and are ready to take off in the morning if the weather is right.  Yesterday we walked to the park and saw a family walk past and ask if they would take a picture of us.  The 9 or 10 year old daughter volunteered and took this pic.  We talked to the family for a while.  They were from PHILLY,  but we came to the conclusion that 95% of the people are good. It's that other 5% that give us problems.

Gunkholing

We departed Annapolis yestersay morning after refueling.  I almost ran us aground in the harbor but we found the channel and made our way to the shipping channel.  We really enjoyed Annapolis.  The people were great, the boating community has everything for the boater, even a water taxi service to your boat if you don't want to dingy to a spot.  We said our goodbys to Stanley and exchanged emails and phone numbers.  Such a great guy is hard to find.  We heard on the VHF one of the other trawlers we have been seeing along the way but did not get close enough to say hello in person. In the channel the wind was on our nose, the tide was againist us and we were only making about 4kts headway.  Denniese was below when we heard a loud horn.  A freighter had come up behind and waited until he was about 50 yds away befor letting us know he wanted to pass. After I recomposed myself I moved over to the side of the channel and let him pass.  Dennniese got a great shot of the bridge of the freighter.  The winds died down in the afternoon and we found a great place to anchor in about 10 feet of water in a cove at Turner Creek off the Sassafras River near the mouth of the Chesapeake.  Today we will transit the C&D Canal, which is a man-made canal that connects the Chespeake Bay and the Delaware Bay, and exit into Deleware Bay.  Gunkholing is the term for anchoring in shallow water away from commercial trafic. Such a wonderful experince.

Annapolis

Still here.   Denniese says if we have to leave Murfreesboro we will move to Annapolis.  The locals say, "You haven't seen the winters."   Our reply is,  "You haven't seen the winters in Murfreesbor!"  We still expect to leave here Tuesday but it will be with regrets.  This the sailing capitol of the world, but it is for all boats, except ski dos.  I haven't seen any of those.  They even have a pump boat that comes by and pumps your holding tank for $5.00.  What a good service and pretty smart way to keep the streams clean.  Got to go, lots to do.  Pic is of the pump boat.

Henry

A strong line of thunderstorms passed over us durnig the night.  Lots of lightning, rain and wind.  Our anchor held  thanks to the 45 lb CQR with 120' of chain and setting it properly.  Not so the boat in front of me.  It drug anchor to within 10 ft. of our boat.  The storm passed and we relocated to a spot about 100 yards up stream and the owner of the other boat came to reset his anchor so all is well.  We went into town to register with the dockmaster (the authority over the dock and harbor here in Annapolis) and do our lanudry.  The dockmaster is located just in front of the U. S.Naval Academy.  We had lunch on the grounds and walked around a bit.  Back at the boat, our newest BFF Stanley came over to talk.  After a couple glasses of wine he started to leave and his dingy motor would not start. A lot of attention was given to "Henry" the dingy motor. After many verbal  assults to Henry it still would not start. Boat owners name things.  I think it gives you a closer relationship with a much needed inanimate object.  Our auto pilot is Squeeky.  Our GPS is Lilly.  So I ask Stanley why his outboard was named Henry.  He said he had a man that worked for him named Henry that continued to let him down.  So he felt is was appropriate to name the motor HENRY!!  Pictured is Stanley and helper Brad toasting Henry.

Hot!!

The hot and stagnant weather finally caught up with us. We motored out of Look Out Point basin this morning to a calm and motionless Chesapeake Bay. It was so calm we turnned the Radar on because of the haze. By noon the temp under the canvas bimnie of the fly bridge was approaching 100.  We did all we could to stay cool.  Our planned anchorage at Herring Bay was a no go.  We could not find a place we liked so we motored another two hours to Annapolis.  Annapolis to the boating world is like NASCAR to the auto indurstry.  We were met by every kind of boat that has ever been made.  Just at the mouth of the Severn River is a bridge that lifted on schedule and we made the schedule and just past that was downtown and mooring balls everywhere.  Dockage is $2.00 per foot of  boat length, mooring ball is $30.00/night and anchoring is free.  The only problem is all the good spots are taken up by mooring balls.  I found a spot and was getting ready to drop the anchor when the city harbor patrol motored up and ask if he could help.  I introduced ourselves and he said his name was Stanley.  I told him I needed a spot for the night and would take a ball in the mooring.  He said,  "Why pay for a ball?  I will find you a good anchor spot."  We followed him up Spa Creek.  He told us the depth, the bottom and  how to set the anchor.  What a way to end a long day.  The pic is of our anchor spot.

Maryland

At our last stop we figured we could not make Annapolis in two days so we broke it up into three smaller runs.  Today, we were at anchor off Point Look Out  where the Potomac meets the Chesapeake on the Maryland shore. This is a point of land that hangs out into the Chesapeake and during the Civil War was a garrison, fort, POW camp and supply depot.  Fort Lincoln is now a state park with a replica barracks and nice sandy beach.  You can see on the chart where we are.  The Potomac is the border and we are on the North side which makes us in Maryland.  Having a short day is good.  We had time to walk Maggie in the park and take a swim ourselves.  We thought of each of you as we enjoyed our day and hope you enjoy reading of our adventures.  But we do miss you.  Thanks for the good wishes and continued prayers.

US Navy

Norfolk and the surrounding area are full of history but today's modern Navy is the most impressive.  The waterfront has been updated to include a Naval Museum which on the top floor has a walkway to the USS Wisconsin.  Included is a pic of the Wisconsin.  It served from WWII to the first Gulf War and is the longest Battleship in the world.  It is affectionately know as the "Wiskey", Anyone know why? We motored about 50 miles up the Chesapeake and are now at anchor in a cove watching the sun set.  Lots left to do so till next time.  Mike and Denniese.

Busy Norfolk

We left the Dismal Swamp Canal welcome center at 0800 Sunday.  We had to make a bridge and lock opening at 1100. As I was putting along at 6mph I realized that the lock was 18 miles away and we may not make the scheduled opening.  The next one was at 1330 or 1:30.  It was raining and visability was not good but I increased the RPM's to hopfully increase our speed.  I had forgot and left the plug in the dingy and it had about 15 gals of rain water in it slowing us down.  It was a slow worrisome 18 miles but we made it.  We met one of the nicest lock of bridge masters so far.  His name was Robert and I told him I wanted his job after this trip.  He said he was the junior man and had only been doing this job for 16 years.  I may have to put my application in quickly.  Part of the difficulties of having a single screw boat with no thruster is in certain applications you have no control of the stern of the boat.  Well guess who go their boat sideways in the lock. Robert handled it with grace.  He told me to go out of the lock and try again.  All of this in the pouring rain.  The lock only let us down 8', but Robert was talking to us the whole way, telling us what to see in Norfolk.  Sunday is usually a busy day on the water ways in the summer, but with the cool temps and rain we didn't see many pleasure craft.  We did see every kind of commercial vessel known to man, including a tow (tugboat) with a barge that went under a bridge at the same time we did.  I ask the Captain if he wanted me to back off and he said, "Naw, we got plenty room".  10 feet from the stern of my boat to the barge is not "Plenty Room" to me. Well lucky us, we arrived at the downtown marina just in time to witness a gaypride concert and rally.  It's hard to describe the things we saw.  I'll wait to tell you in person.  We will be here for a couple of days before heading up to Annapolis.  Pic is Robert the Lockmaster.

Dismal Swamp Canal

The Dismal Swamp Canal is anything but dismal.  When first dug it was a commercial venture that attracted significant investors, one we all know was George Washington who invested in it in 1760's.  He later sold his interest in the Dismal Swamp investment company and that first venture failed.  The ditch that payed off for investors was dug by hand and opened up the swamp land from Virginia to North Carolina in the early 1800's.  This allowed flat boats to haul goods without going into the Atlantic. Not much wider than the Stones River it is now for recrecreational boaters and boasts having the only welcome center that serves both cars and boats.  Boaters are allowed to dock for the night and walk the trails or visit the Nature Center run by the federal park system.  The picture shows the beauty of this canal.  We had to go through one lock to get into the canal  and parked on the side under a tree and had lunch.  This 50 mile stretch of wilderness is the most beautiful part of this trip so far. Next stop Norfolk.

White Caps and Crab Pots

We departed the Shell Station at Alligator River Bridge this morning at 0730.  Our destination today is Elizabeth City, NC.  First we have to cross Albermarie Sound one of the larger bodies of open water we must cross.  From the bridge to the mouth is about 25 miles. The worse time to cross is when the wind is from the NE.  The wind shifted last night and of course if changed to the NE.  Mariners have a way of telling what the force of the wind is.  It is called the Beaufort wind scale.  Established by a French admiral during the height of sailing ships.  It is still used today.  Wave height and wave action will tell the wind speed.  Today my estimate is Beauford number 5, or 19 to 24 MPH. Thats a lot of wind for a small boat in open water.  The boat did fine and the crew did fine.  At one point I suggested we tie the dog down but Denniese said just put a leash on her and she will be OK.  After a couple of hours the coast line sheltered us and the ride was better.  The depth of the water was less and crab pots started apearing everywhere. Crab pots sit on the bottom and are attached to a float so the owner can come retrieve his crabs.  Each owner will mark his float so he knows which day to check it and of course who owns it.  The problem is they have run out of colors and have begun painting them black. Very hard to see.  If you get one of those caught in your prop it could take a diver to set you free. All passed and we pulled into Elizabeth City about 2pm.  The first slip I pulled into was too small.  The second was reserved for a boat race tomorrow but the third was just right. I had lots of help getting to it.  Most were boat owners that had real reason to fear damage to their boat as I continued looking for a spot to park this thing.  Alls Good Mon, as they say in the islands.  Concert on the grass tonight and farmers market tomorrow.  I think we will leave befor the boat race.  The great Dismal Swamp tomorrow. Pic is of the City Docks

Swamp Fire

I heard it on the VHF.  Limited visability due to a swamp fire.  I didn't pay much attention to the announcement because,  there is so much swamp in this area, whats a little fire. We have been out of cell phone range for a couple of days and this is the first update I have been able to send. We anchored last night at a place called Pango creek.  It was a good anchorage but nothing else.  Today we traveled about 50 miles to the Allagator River Marina.  Now to all the folks that think we are living the life of Riely, please refer to the picture.  We are parked behind a Shell service station on a river that the water is the color of Dr. Pepper.  We can smell the grease from the deep fat frayer and hear the trucks go by.  Now if that is not bad enough the swamp fire is up wind about a mile from us.  I can't see across the river and ash is falling on the boat and the new lap top.  I wounder if that is covered under the computer warrenty.  I can't go inside because we can't get cell coverage from inside the boat.  So this is all you get today.  Tomorrow we should be in Elizabeth City.  That is a stopping point before the Great Dismal Swamp.  Hope it's not on fire.   Love M&D